In the Old Testament, there are two primary Hebrew
words which are translated as “pardon”, “pardoned”
“forgive”, “forgiveness”, “forgiven” or “forgiving”.
These are “nasa” and “salah”. Harris, Archer and
Waltke say “nasa” means “the taking away, forgiveness
or pardon of sin, iniquity and transgression. So
characteristic is this action of taking away sin, that
it is listed as one of God’s attributes (Exodus 34:7;
Numbers 14:18, Micah 7:18)…Sin can be forgiven and
forgotten, because it is taken up and carried away”.
[1] Brown, Driver and
Briggs say in Exodus 32:32, 34:7, Numbers 14:18, 1
Samuel 15:25, Job 7:21 and Micah 7:18, “nasa” means
“take away guilt, iniquity, transgression etc., i.e.
forgive”.
[2]

Micah 7:18-19 contains these wonderful words:
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing
over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever, because He
delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on
us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all
our sins into the depths of the sea.” This
verse reveals that no angel or human has a character
so willing to pardon wickedness done against Himself
or others, as what God has.

Micah 7:18 says God delights in showing mercy. This
means He enjoys doing it. He does not pardon
our sins in a begrudging way. Verse 19 here shows how
far God removes our sins from us – He figuratively
hurls them into the depths of the sea.

When referring to the Hebrew word “salah”, Harris,
Archer and Waltke say, “‘salah’ is used of God’s offer
of pardon and forgiveness to the sinner. Never does
this word in any of its forms refer to people
forgiving each other”.
[3] “Salah” is used in
Exodus 34:9, Numbers 14:19-20, 2 Kings 5:18, 24:4,
Psalm 25:11, Isaiah 55:7, Jeremiah 5:1, 5:7, 33:8,
50:20 and Lamentations 3:42.

Isaiah 55:7 reveals God requires humans to turn from
their known sinful ways and thoughts to Him in order
for their sins to be pardoned: “Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on
him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Greek words
for forgiveness or pardon

There are four main words used in
the original Greek New Testament in relation to the
forgiveness or pardon of our sins or crimes against
God. These are the verb “aphiemi”, its associated noun
“aphesis”, “charizomai” and “apoluo”.

The word “aphiemi” means “to send
forth, send away, to remit or forgive debts and sins”.
[4] Vine goes on to say
that “aphiemi” “like its corresponding noun (aphesis),
firstly signifies the remission of the punishment due
to sinful conduct, the deliverance of the sinner from
the penalty divinely, and, therefore righteously,
imposed; secondly, it involves the complete removal of
the cause of the offence; such remission is based upon
the vicarious and propitiatory sacrifice of Christ”.
[5] The word remission”
means a cancelling or a release from something. The
word “vicarious” means done on behalf of another or
acting in place of someone. “Propitiation” means the
removal of God’s anger against sinners and their sins.

There are numerous verses in the
New Testament which use the word “aphiemi”. Romans
4:7, James 5:15, 1 John 1:9 and 2:12 are examples.
Romans 4:7 relates to new creations in Christ:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven…”
1 John 2:12 is a wonderful statement of what happens
when we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour – our sins
are forgiven or remitted: “I write to you,
little children, because your sins are forgiven you
for His name’s sake.” In the original Greek,
the phrase “are forgiven” is in the
perfect tense. The perfect tense either means God
forgave us all our sins and this has continuing
effects in our lives or we are in a state of having
been forgiven.

1 John 1:9 reveals how Christians
can obtain complete remission or forgiveness of any
sins they may fall into after conversion. 1 John 1:9
states: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.” When this verse says God
is faithful, it is referring to His faithfulness to
His New Covenant promises to forgive believers of
their sins. When this verse declares God is just, it
means He forgives believers’ sins in ways that are in
agreement with His perfect justice. In other words, He
forgives because Jesus has taken the punishment owing
to God’s perfect justice because of our sins.

Ephesians 1:7-8 shows this
forgiveness of sin is totally by undeserved
unmerited grace through the purchase price of
Jesus’ physical death: “In Him we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace…”
Colossians 1:14 speaks similarly.

Acts 26:18 associates receiving
this remission or forgiveness of sin with having a
personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: “…that
they may receive forgiveness of sins and an
inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in
Me.” Acts 2:38 links repentance or having a
change of heart about God, Christ and our known sins
to the type of conversion that receives full remission
or forgiveness of sins.

In the original Greek, Colossians
2:13 uses a form of the word “charizomai” in the
phrase which speaks of God “…having forgiven you
all trespasses…” The Greek word “charizomai”
means in the context of Colossians 2:13 “give –
equalling remit, forgive, pardon”
[8]or in the context of
Luke 7:42 means “to release a person from the
obligation of repaying what is owed”.
[9] In Luke 7:42, Jesus
spoke of a creditor freely forgiving two debtors their
debts. Here Jesus compares forgiveness of sin to
freeing a person from their responsibility to pay
their debts. Because the word “charizomai” is derived
from the word “charis” which means God’s freely given
grace, this reveals forgiveness of sin is a totally
free, unmerited act of God’s grace or kindness.

“Apoluo” is another word used in
the original Greek New Testament for forgiveness or
pardon. “Apoluo” means “set free, release, pardon a
prisoner…release a debtor”.
[10] This word is used in
Luke 6:37: “…Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Most of the usages of “apoluo” in
the New Testament relate to the legal releasing or
pardoning by Governor Pontius Pilate of Barabbus, the
condemned criminal or to Pilate’s consideration of
legally pardoning or releasing Jesus from His assumed
“crimes”. These references are found in Matthew 27:15,
17, 21, 26; Mark 15:6, 9, 11, 15; Luke 23:16, 18, 20,
22, 25; John 18:39; 19:10, 12; and Acts 3:13.

In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus teaches
about forgiveness of sins or debts. In Matthew 18:27,
“apoluo” is used also in relation to a servant being
released by a king after having a debt cancelled: “Then the master of that servant was moved with
compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.”
In Greek, the word “released” here is a
form of “apoluo” and “forgave” is a form
of “aphiemi”. In this parable, “apoluo” relates to our
having a great debt owing to God our Supreme King and
Judge Who in loving compassion and mercy cancels our
debt and then lets us go free. Verse 27 refers to the
King’s compassion and verse 33 mentions the King’s
mercy. Also note verses 23 and 24 refer to the king
settling accounts with his subjects.

Matthew 18:24 says the man’s debt
was ten thousand talents. This is equivalent to
millions of dollars. No slave in ancient times could
ever repay such a debt. People in ancient times would
understand this comparative amount far better than
modern Westerners. This is just like us. We owe God an
unpayable debt. But in mercy, God cancels our
debt, forgives us and lets us go free. God does all
this perfectly legally on the basis that Jesus Christ
has paid the unpayable debt for us.

Louw and Nida say “aphiemi”,
“aphesis” and “apoluo” all mean “to remove the guilt
resulting from wrongdoing…It is extremely important to
note that the focus in the meanings of ‘aphiemi’,
‘aphesis’ and ‘apoluo’ is upon the guilt of the
wrongdoer and not upon the wrongdoing itself. When God
forgives the wrongdoer, the event of wrongdoing is not
undone, but the guilt resulting from such an event is
pardoned. To forgive, therefore, means essentially to
remove the guilt resulting from wrongdoing”.
[11]